It seems like everyone knows what to do, but how do you actually implement it?! It’s all really good in theory, but what does it really look like put into action? I’ve decided to share my own strategy.

Twitter

I used to have my Twitter and Facebook account connected. Any tweets would automatically go to Facebook. But, I had several people tell me, “I look at the things you post and it’s over my head. I don’t get it.” As a result, people stopped paying attention to my Facebook account and my own sister unfollowed me on Twitter.

I decided to use my Twitter account as a way of interacting with other designers and programmers. So, I’ll tweet things about design and programming. (You are what you attract.) Occasionally, a personal tweet will work it’s way in. But, for the most part, design and programming. On a good day, I try and tweet at least 3 different links.

Facebook

For me, Facebook is personal. The people I’m friends with on Facebook, I know personally. So, I’ll post updates that are just that: personal. Since I’ve disconnected my Twitter account and been intentional about what I post on Facebook, I’ve had far more comments and likes than I’ve had in a long time.

Google+

I’m (honestly) still trying to figure this one out. I started reading Guy Kawasaki’s book on Google+ and I was amazed at the potential that Google+ has. I remember conversations when Google+ first started, “It’s going to be better than Facebook and Twitter.” But months later, I’m not sure that’s the case (DISCLAIMER: I’m not sure what the numbers are, I’m just speaking from my own personal experience.) I’m still trying to decide if this one is worth the effort.

Pinterest

I finally jumped on the Pinterest bandwagon. I was an early adopter and had an account before anyone else knew it existed (September 3, 2010, to be exact), but never posted anything. It has always bothered me that they own the content that I post. If I post all my inspiration there and something happens and their service has to be shut down, then I’ve lost all my inspiration…well, you know what I mean. I’ve lost all the images I’ve used for visual research.

Originally, that’s what I envisioned the Things I Like section of my site to be, a personal pinboard of sorts. But, I can’t argue with the fact that companies are getting more referral traffic from Pinterest than Google (myself included). So, I still grab images and stick them in my Evernote account, but I also pin them. It’s been fun to watch which pins get repinned and the things my friends find interesting.

Instagram

I use Instagram about the same way that everyone else does. I take pictures and post them to Instagram. The pictures I take are probably more personal than not. Even other iPhone Photography services that I’ve used for the filters (tada, Snapseed, and Camera+), I’ll still export to send to Instagram. One day, I still want to participate in fat mum slim’s photo a day.

Posted 10.31.2012

If you haven’t noticed, I’ve been trying to beef up my blog, posting more regularly. I know I’ll be far more effective, if I do that with strategy, versus, half heartedly throwing hand grenades. Plus, you and I both know (well, at least I hope you do) that social media extends far beyond a blog or website. It’s how we interact on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and Google+ (just to name a few).

So, where do we start? First, we have to decide what we’re going to focus on. There are hundreds of social networks out there, most of which I’ve never even heard about. For me, I decided I’m going to focus on the big ones. People are already there. I would rather go to my target audience versus waiting around for them to come to me.

Second, I think you have to figure out who your core audience is. This is a difficult one. We want to be everyone’s friend, but it doesn’t work that way…and that’s OK! I was on a conference call with a client earlier this week. We asked them who their core audience was and they said 20-45 year old women. That’s a 25 year age difference! That’s not a core audience! After a few more questions, we were able to narrow that down to young moms. Now we’re starting to get somewhere.

As you can tell, this is something that I struggle with on my own blog. I have interests in all these areas. For me, I’ve tried to divide these out by categories (101, My Life, Finders Keepers, Programming, Design, and Photography). I would rather everything be housed under 1 site than try and manage 6 different blogs! Honestly, I (still) don’t know if this is effective.

But, one thing I am sure of: my core audience is different based on which medium I am using. For example, on Facebook, I’ve tried to be very intentional about making sure the people I’m friends with are people that I know in real life. They don’t care about how I debug sites on my iPhone and iPad, but they do want to know about my trip to Rio this summer. If I keep posting geek stuff that’s over their head, pretty soon, they’ll start tuning me out and miss the stuff that is actually applicable to them.

Third, there’s the time factor. How much time are you willing to spend each day? How often are you going to post? When are you posting?

One of the hardest things I’ve discovered about social media is staying consistent. I’ll do great for one day, or one week, even. But, it quickly becomes hard to maintain. Social media is not a microwave, though. We like to think it is because things move quickly, in and out, but for us to have any success or have any influence whatsoever, our audience needs to be able to trust us and know that we’re going to be there no matter what. Day in and day out. Yeah, it’s hard. But, anything that has value is hard.

Do you have a social media strategy? Is there another principle you’ve used when creating your social media strategy?